A numerical model of a solid oxide fuel cell electrode is presented. Using an already established algorithm for dropping spheres as a base, alterations are made to the algorithm to increase the realism of the model. Two changes are analyzed in detail: the ability to drop pore former particles, and the use of pre-agglomerated solid particles. These changes are characterized by their impact on mean pore size, tortuosity, and effective diffusivity. As pore former volume fraction is increased, so too are mean pore size and tortuosity. A higher mean pore size has a beneficial effect on effective diffusivity due to Knudsen effects, while a higher tortuosity has a detrimental effect on effective diffusivity. The impact of mean pore size and tortuosity on diffusivity generally balances and if the impact of porosity is ignored, pore former volume fraction does not greatly affect effective diffusivity. As pore former particle size is increased, mean pore size and tortuosity also increase. Similarly to before, the effects of mean pore size and tortuosity balance. However, effective diffusivity is shown to decrease slightly with an increasing pore former particle size, suggesting a change in tortuosity has greater impact on diffusivity than a change in mean pore size. For a domain constructed with pre-agglomerated particles, the tortuosity and mean pore size were both noticeably larger than when no pre-agglomerated particles are used. Effective diffusivity was only slightly higher for a domain constructed with pre-agglomerated particles than with no pre-agglomerated particles. It is also shown that the relationship of effective diffusivity with porosity for a domain constructed with pre-agglomerated particles does not fit the correlation proposed by Berson et al. [1] for low porosity structures. A secondary goal of this work is to examine pore size measurement techniques, and present a novel technique that allows the determination of a local pore size, and therefore, a local Knudsen number. Results from the local pore size technique do not match those of the random walk method and so although the novel technique may prove to be a good starting point, it is deemed not yet suitable for use. / Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-06-13 15:30:00.25

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an approved therapy for patients suffering from refractory epilepsy. While VNS is currently an open loop system, making the system closed loop can improve the therapeutic efficacy. Electrical recording of peripheral nerve activity using a nerve cuff electrode is a potential long-term solution for implementing a closed-loop controlled VNS system. However, the clinical utility of this approach is significantly limited by various factors, such as poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the recorded electroneurogram (ENG). In this study, we investigated the effects of (1) modifying the electrode contact dimensions, (2) implementing an external shielding layer on the nerve cuff electrode and (3) exploring shielded bipolar nerve cuff designs on the recorded ENG. Findings from both computer simulations and animal experiments suggest that significant improvements in peripheral nerve recordings can be achieved.

Physicians’ understanding of bio-signals, measured using medical instruments, becomes the foundation of their decisions and diagnoses of patients, as they rely strongly on what the instruments show. Thus, it is critical and very important to ensure that the instruments’ readings exactly reflect what is happening in the patient’s body so that the detected signal is the real one or at least as close to the real in-body signal as possible and carries all of the appropriate information. This is such an important issue that sometimes physicians use invasive measurements in order to obtain the real bio-signal. Generating an in-body signal from what a measurement device shows is called “signal purification” or “reconstruction,” and can be done only when we have adequate information about the interface between the body and the monitoring device. In this research, first, we present a device that we developed for electrocardiogram (ECG) acquisition and transfer to PC. In order to evaluate the performance of the device, we use it to measure ECG and apply conductive textile as our ECG electrode. Then, we evaluate ECG signals captured by different electrodes, specifically traditional gel Ag/AgCl and dry golden plate electrodes, and compare the results. Next, we propose a method to reconstruct the ECG signal from the signal we detected with our device with respect to the interface characteristics and their relation to the detected ECG. The interface in this study is the skin-electrode interface for conductive textiles. In the last stage of this work, we explore the effects of pressure on skin-electrode interface impedance and its parametrical variation.

No description available.

Influenza is the infectious agent of the seasonal flu. Flu symptoms from influenza infection are similar to the symptoms caused by bacterial upper respiratory tract infections. This similarity causes the inappropriate diagnosis and prescription of antibiotics, leading to drug resistant bacterial strains. Moreover, the limitations of the current viral detection methods prevent the clinical diagnosis of influenza. The objective of this project is to design a rapid and sensitive influenza diagnostic method based on the highly sensitive Nanostructured microelectrode biosensing assay. The diagnostic method was designed by selecting probe sequences, controlling the quality of the probes and the sensing chips, and optimizing the deposition conditions. This diagnostic method was shown to be capable of differentiating influenza sequences from non-complementary sequences, detecting influenza sequences in the form of ~1000-nucleotide RNA molecules, sensing the target influenza RNA within a complex mixture of cell lysates, and achieving a clinically relevant detection limit.

Influenza is the infectious agent of the seasonal flu. Flu symptoms from influenza infection are similar to the symptoms caused by bacterial upper respiratory tract infections. This similarity causes the inappropriate diagnosis and prescription of antibiotics, leading to drug resistant bacterial strains. Moreover, the limitations of the current viral detection methods prevent the clinical diagnosis of influenza. The objective of this project is to design a rapid and sensitive influenza diagnostic method based on the highly sensitive Nanostructured microelectrode biosensing assay. The diagnostic method was designed by selecting probe sequences, controlling the quality of the probes and the sensing chips, and optimizing the deposition conditions. This diagnostic method was shown to be capable of differentiating influenza sequences from non-complementary sequences, detecting influenza sequences in the form of ~1000-nucleotide RNA molecules, sensing the target influenza RNA within a complex mixture of cell lysates, and achieving a clinically relevant detection limit.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

Th. doct.-ing.--Grenoble, I.N.P.G., 1979. N°: DI 88.

With life expectancy on the rise, age-related ailments are a significant strain on the welfare of individuals and the economy. Progress is being made towards combating the leading cause of unavoidable blindness, age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD affects ten million Americans and costs the world economy $343 billion annually. Retinal implants promise to restore sight by replacing the eye's damaged photoreceptors with electronic photodiodes. Clinical trials succeed at restoring some vision, but are limited by the stimulating electrodes. We study the electrode-neuron interface with a focus on the geometrical dependence of the electrode. The functionality of neurons is intimately connected to their branching and curving shape, described by fractal geometry. We examine the morphology of neurons using fractal analysis. The results inform our electrode designs, which are fabricated using top-down lithographic and bottom-up self-assembly techniques. A novel technique for fabricating a fractal electrode is presented. Heating and cooling a film of poly(methyl methacrylate) on a SiO2 substrate causes fractal structures to form on the surface. The geometry of the structures is temperature dependent, producing crystalline branches at lower temperatures and diffusion-limited aggregates at higher temperatures. Subsequent deposition of antimony nanoclusters shows preferred diffusion to the fractal surface features. The dependence of a photodiode's performance on its top contact geometry is explored using modified nodal analysis. The results reinforce the need to balance a low mean semiconductor-metal separation distance with an adequate contact width for low resistance, all while maximizing light input. Future designs will benefit from the spatial voltage maps produced by the simulation. The electric field emanating from an electrode is also dependent on the geometry of the electrode. The Faraday cage effect is exploited to achieve similar electric field responses to traditional electrode shapes. A preliminary study of neural adhesion to SU-8 fractal electrodes is promising. The neuron grows along the electrode even at 90° turns. The role the fractal geometry plays in neuron and electrode functionality is shown to be significant. Continued study of, and experimentation with, new electrode designs is sure to produce exciting possibilities in the future. This dissertation includes previously unpublished co-authored material.

Foram sintetizadas quatro naftaleno-diimidas (NDIs) funcionalizadas com grupos N-alquil-amino e N-alquil-hidroxi. Essas espécies foram caracterizadas pelos métodos espectrométricos convencionais. As propriedades eletroquímicas destas NDIs foram estudadas por voltametria cíclica em acetonitrila e N-metil-pirrolidona. Os voltamogramas obtidos mostram dois processos redox reversíveis com E1/2 ao redor de -970 mV e de -1400 mV (vs fc/Fc+). Estes resultados são consistentes com trabalhos previamente reportados. Algumas das NDIs exibiram grande afinidade por superfícies de carbono vítreo anodizado, adsorvendo irreversivelmente. Esta propriedade foi explorada na obtenção de eletrodos modificados. As propriedades eletroquímicas de eletrodos de carbono vítreo modificados por adsorção das NDIs foram investigadas por voltametria cíclica (VC) e cronoamperometria de degrau de potencial (CADP). Os voltamogramas são caracterizados pela presença de um único processo redox reversível, com E1/2 na faixa de -360 mV a -385 mV (vs Ag/AgCl). Os transientes de CADP forneceram estimativas para as constantes de velocidade k para as reações de transferência de elétrons na superfície dos eletrodos. Foram observados desvios em relação à cinética de primeira ordem, atribuídos ao caráter micro-heterogêneo da superfície. O modelo de Albery, que considera a dispersão dos valores de k, foi aplicado e comparado com dados obtidos por ajuste de funções exponenciais. Foram também preparados compósitos à base de NDIs e nanotubos de carbono de parede simples (NTCPS) sobre eletrodos de ouro. A resposta voltamétrica dos compósitos NDI/NTCPS é caracterizada pela presença de um processo redox reversível na faixa de -336 mV a -349 mV (vs Ag/AgCl). A cinética de transferência de elétrons nestes eletrodos modificados foi estudada por metodologia análoga à descrita anteriormente. Os resultados sugerem que os eletrodos estudados podem encontrar aplicação no desenvolvimento de sensores químicos, dispositivos eletroquímicos e em eletrocatálise. / Four naphthalene-diimides (NDIs) were synthesized functionalyzed with N- alkyl-amino and N-alkyl-hydroxi groups. These NDIs were characterized by conventional spectrometric methods. The electrochemical properties of NDIs were studied through cyclic voltametry in acetonitrile and N-metyl-pyrrolidone. Typical voltammograms present two reversible redox processes with E1/2 around -970 mV and -1400 mV (vs Fc/Fc+ ). These results are consistent with previous reported works. Some NDIs showed a strong affinity to anodized glassy carbon surfaces, with irreversible adsorption. This property was used to obtain new modified glassy carbon electrodes. The electrochemical properties of glassy carbon electrodes modified by adsorption of the NDIs were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and potential step chronoamperometry (PSCA). The voltammograms are characterized by the presence of a single reversible redox process, with E1/2 around -360 mV to -385 mV (vs Ag/AgCl). The PSCA transients offered estimates for the k rate constants for the electron transfer reactions on the electrode surfaces. Deviations with respect to the first order kinetics were observed and considered due to the micro-heterogeneity of the surface. Albery´s model, wich takes into account the dispersion in k values, was applied and results compared with those obtained by exponential functions fitting. Composites based on NDIs and single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) were also prepared on gold electrodes. The voltammetric response from NDI/SWNT composites is characterized by the presence of reversible redox process in the range from -336 mV to -349 mV (vs Ag/AgCl). The kinetics of the electron transfers on those modified electrodes was studied using a methodology similar to the one previously described. The results suggest that these modified electrodes may find application in the development of chemical sensors, electrochemical devices and in electrocatalysis.